IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/egu/wpaper/2529.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Geographies of Innovation and Well-being

Author

Listed:
  • Fulvio Castellacci
  • Emil Evenhuis
  • Koen Frenken

Abstract

The geography of innovation has focused on the roles of innovation for regional development understood in terms of income growth, productivity, and job creation. We propose a broader view on regional development using the framework of wellbeing developed in other disciplines. Following this perspective, we outline the possible roles and pathways through which innovation can contribute to well-being at various spatial scales and how, in turn, normative-political considerations regarding well-being provides directionality in innovation (policy) processes at spatial scales.

Suggested Citation

  • Fulvio Castellacci & Emil Evenhuis & Koen Frenken, 2025. "Geographies of Innovation and Well-being," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 2529, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Aug 2025.
    • Handle: RePEc:egu:wpaper:2529
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://econ.geo.uu.nl/peeg/peeg2529.pdf
    File Function: Version August 2025
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. AndrewE. Clark & Claudia Senik, 2010. "Who Compares to Whom? The Anatomy of Income Comparisons in Europe," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 120(544), pages 573-594, May.
    2. Philippe Aghion & Ufuk Akcigit & Antonin Bergeaud & Richard Blundell & David Hemous, 2019. "Innovation and Top Income Inequality," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 86(1), pages 1-45.
    3. Maria Abreu & Flavio Comim & Calvin Jones, 2024. "A capability-approach perspective on regional development," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 58(11), pages 2208-2220, November.
    4. Sabine de Graaff & Iris Wanzenböck & Koen Frenken, 2025. "The politics of directionality in innovation policy through the lens of policy process frameworks," Science and Public Policy, Oxford University Press, vol. 52(3), pages 418-432.
    5. Franz Tödtling & Michaela Trippl & Veronika Desch, 2022. "New directions for RIS studies and policies in the face of grand societal challenges," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(11), pages 2139-2156, November.
    6. Elvira Uyarra & Barbara Ribeiro & Lisa Dale-Clough, 2019. "Exploring the normative turn in regional innovation policy: responsibility and the quest for public value," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(12), pages 2359-2375, December.
    7. Daron Acemoglu & Pascual Restrepo, 2020. "Robots and Jobs: Evidence from US Labor Markets," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 128(6), pages 2188-2244.
    8. Ben R. Martin, 2016. "Twenty challenges for innovation studies," Science and Public Policy, Oxford University Press, vol. 43(3), pages 432-450.
    9. Marloes M. Hoogerbrugge & Martijn J. Burger & Frank G. Van Oort, 2022. "Spatial structure and subjective well-being in North-West Europe," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(1), pages 75-86, January.
    10. A De Ruyter & R Martin & P Tyler, 2021. "Geographies of discontent: sources, manifestations and consequences," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 14(3), pages 381-393.
    11. Dolan, Paul & Metcalfe, Robert, 2012. "The relationship between innovation and subjective wellbeing," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(8), pages 1489-1498.
    12. Sanna Ala-Mantila & Jukka Heinonen & Seppo Junnila & Perttu Saarsalmi, 2018. "Spatial nature of urban well-being," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(7), pages 959-973, July.
    13. Charles I. Jones & John C. Williams, 1998. "Measuring the Social Return to R&D," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 113(4), pages 1119-1135.
    14. David Hémous & Morten Olsen, 2022. "The Rise of the Machines: Automation, Horizontal Innovation, and Income Inequality," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 14(1), pages 179-223, January.
    15. Richard R Nelson, 2011. "The Moon and the Ghetto revisited," Science and Public Policy, Oxford University Press, vol. 38(9), pages 681-690, November.
    16. Binz, Christian & Truffer, Bernhard, 2017. "Global Innovation Systems—A conceptual framework for innovation dynamics in transnational contexts," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(7), pages 1284-1298.
    17. Fulvio Castellacci, 2023. "Innovation and social welfare: A new research agenda," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(4), pages 1156-1191, September.
    18. Cristiano Antonelli, 1998. "Localized technological change, new information technology and the knowledge-based economy: The European evidence," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 8(2), pages 177-198.
    19. Andrew E. Clark & Paul Frijters & Michael A. Shields, 2008. "Relative Income, Happiness, and Utility: An Explanation for the Easterlin Paradox and Other Puzzles," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 46(1), pages 95-144, March.
    20. Martha Nussbaum, 2003. "Capabilities As Fundamental Entitlements: Sen And Social Justice," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(2-3), pages 33-59.
    21. Henrik Schwabe & Fulvio Castellacci, 2020. "Automation, workers’ skills and job satisfaction," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(11), pages 1-26, November.
    22. repec:hal:pseose:halshs-00754447 is not listed on IDEAS
    23. Martin Binder, 2013. "Innovativeness and Subjective Well-Being," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 111(2), pages 561-578, April.
    24. Jean Hartley, 2005. "Innovation in Governance and Public Services: Past and Present," Public Money & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(1), pages 27-34, January.
    25. Mark Shucksmith & Stuart Cameron & Tanya Merridew & Florian Pichler, 2009. "Urban--Rural Differences in Quality of Life across the European Union," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(10), pages 1275-1289, December.
    26. Angus Deaton, 2008. "Income, Health, and Well-Being around the World: Evidence from the Gallup World Poll," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 22(2), pages 53-72, Spring.
    27. Amartya Sen, 2004. "Capabilities, Lists, And Public Reason: Continuing The Conversation," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(3), pages 77-80.
    28. George MacKerron, 2012. "Happiness Economics From 35 000 Feet," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(4), pages 705-735, September.
    29. Aqib Aslam & Luisa Corrado, 2012. "The geography of well-being," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 12(3), pages 627-649, May.
    30. Witt, Ulrich, 2021. "Does sustainability-promoting policy making reduce our welfare?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    31. Carol Ryff & Burton Singer, 2008. "Know Thyself and Become What You Are: A Eudaimonic Approach to Psychological Well-Being," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 9(1), pages 13-39, January.
    32. Des Gasper, 2005. "Subjective and Objective Well-Being in Relation to Economic Inputs: Puzzles and Responses," Review of Social Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 63(2), pages 177-206.
    33. Daniel Kahneman & Alan B. Krueger, 2006. "Developments in the Measurement of Subjective Well-Being," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 20(1), pages 3-24, Winter.
    34. Claudia Senik, 2005. "Income distribution and well-being: what can we learn from subjective data?," Post-Print halshs-00754101, HAL.
    35. Dolan, Paul & Peasgood, Tessa & White, Mathew, 2008. "Do we really know what makes us happy A review of the economic literature on the factors associated with subjective well-being," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 94-122, February.
    36. Trajtenberg, Manuel, 1989. "The Welfare Analysis of Product Innovations, with an Application to Computed Tomography Scanners," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 97(2), pages 444-479, April.
    37. Easterlin, Richard A., 1995. "Will raising the incomes of all increase the happiness of all?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 35-47, June.
    38. repec:bla:pmomgt:v:25:y:2005:i:1:p:27-34 is not listed on IDEAS
    39. Castellacci, Fulvio, 2023. "The Effects of Innovation on Well-being: A Conceptual Framework," MPRA Paper 124901, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised May 2025.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Castellacci, Fulvio, 2023. "The Effects of Innovation on Well-being: A Conceptual Framework," MPRA Paper 124901, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised May 2025.
    2. Castellacci, Fulvio & Tveito, Vegard, 2018. "Internet use and well-being: A survey and a theoretical framework," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(1), pages 308-325.
    3. Fulvio Castellacci, 2023. "Innovation and social welfare: A new research agenda," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(4), pages 1156-1191, September.
    4. Fulvio Castellacci & Vegard Tveito, 2016. "The Effects of ICTs on Well-being: A Survey and a Theoretical Framework," Working Papers on Innovation Studies 20161004, Centre for Technology, Innovation and Culture, University of Oslo.
    5. Yasar, Rusen, 2018. "Subjective well-being and income: A compromise between Easterlin paradox and its critiques," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal (2007-2020), Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), vol. 12, pages 1-23.
    6. Drakopoulos, Stavros A. & Grimani, Katerina, 2015. "The Effect of Pay Cuts on Psychological Well-Being and Job Satisfaction," MPRA Paper 61195, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Yasar, Rusen, 2017. "Subjective well-being and income: A compromise between Easterlin paradox and its critiques," Economics Discussion Papers 2017-113, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    8. Can Mavruk & Ersin Kıral & Gülsen Kıral, 2021. "Spatial Effects Over Time-Framed Happiness," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 517-554, February.
    9. Fulvio Castellacci & Henrik Schwabe, 2018. "Internet Use and the U-shaped relationship between Age and Well-being," Working Papers on Innovation Studies 20180215, Centre for Technology, Innovation and Culture, University of Oslo.
    10. Hajdu, Tamás & Hajdu, Gábor, 2011. "A hasznosság és a relatív jövedelem kapcsolatának vizsgálata magyar adatok segítségével [Examining the relation of utility and relative income using Hungarian data]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(1), pages 56-73.
    11. Fulvio Castellacci & Henrik Schwabe, 2020. "Internet, unmet aspirations and the U-shape of life," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(6), pages 1-22, June.
    12. Tetsuya Tsurumi & Rintaro Yamaguchi & Kazuki Kagohashi & Shunsuke Managi, 2021. "Are Cognitive, Affective, and Eudaimonic Dimensions of Subjective Well-Being Differently Related to Consumption? Evidence from Japan," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 22(6), pages 2499-2522, August.
    13. Barrington-Leigh, C.P., 2024. "The econometrics of happiness: Are we underestimating the returns to education and income?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 230(C).
    14. Akay, Alpaslan & Constant, Amelie & Giulietti, Corrado, 2014. "The impact of immigration on the well-being of natives," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 72-92.
    15. Gregor Gonza & Anže Burger, 2017. "Subjective Well-Being During the 2008 Economic Crisis: Identification of Mediating and Moderating Factors," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 18(6), pages 1763-1797, December.
    16. Biswajit Banerjee & Peter Tóth, 2025. "Life Satisfaction and Inequality in Slovakia: The Role of Income, Consumption and Wealth," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 177(1), pages 93-126, March.
    17. Diriwaechter, Patric & Shvartsman, Elena, 2018. "The anticipation and adaptation effects of intra- and interpersonal wage changes on job satisfaction," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 116-140.
    18. Sun Youn Lee & Fumio Ohtake, 2021. "How Conscious Are You of Others? Further Evidence on Relative Income and Happiness," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 22(8), pages 3321-3356, December.
    19. Cordero, José Manuel & Salinas-Jiménez, Javier & Salinas-Jiménez, M Mar, 2017. "Exploring factors affecting the level of happiness across countries: A conditional robust nonparametric frontier analysis," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 256(2), pages 663-672.
    20. Marcin Piekalkiewicz, 2016. "Money, Social Capital and Materialism. Evidence from Happiness Data," Department of Economics University of Siena 731, Department of Economics, University of Siena.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:egu:wpaper:2529. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: the person in charge The email address of this maintainer does not seem to be valid anymore. Please ask the person in charge to update the entry or send us the correct address (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/deguunl.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.